A thrilling match against Warwickshire went to the last bowl of the final end, which saw the visitors take the game by just one shot.

Team manager John Church gave two youngsters a place at lead, Jamie Walker (West End) and Callum Height (Thrapston).

Both Walker and Height played well and helped their rinks to victories.

Also playing his first competitive match for the County was Ray Castle, of Northampton Express, who came to the County from Middlesex, where he earned his Middleton Cup flash.

A recall to the team was Sam Wade of Kingsthorpe, who last played for the County prior to moving to Scotland where he continued his successful bowling career.

Wade returned in December to manage Kingsthorpe Golf Club and he has made himself available for selection again.

Neil Corbyn's rink was playing the last end of the match with the County facing a two-shot deficit, and after some good bowls by Height, Malins, Tansley, and Corbyn, the position was all square the County rink, holding two shots.

But with his last bowl the Warwickshire skip Tony Apsley managed to turn one of his own bowls in for second wood to secure victory by the smallest of margins.

Church said after the defeat: "To lose by one shot after leading their opponents by 11 shots at the halfway stage, by 17 shots at the three quarter mark, and by 14 shots after 18 ends across the green was very disappointing.

"But there were some very positive outcomes from the match, not least the performances of the two youngsters."

Northants had four winning rinks, giving them eight points to Warwickshire's 14.

Rink scores
Rink one: Jamie Walker (West End), Alan Ashby (West End), John Freeman (Abington), Vernon Gearey (Kingsthorpe) 27 Andy Smith 8
Rink two: Callum Height (Thrapston), Mick Malins (Irchester), Roger Tansley (Kingsthorpe), Neil Corbyn (Wellingborough) 21 Tony Apsley 15
Rink three: Tony O'Leary (Abington), Richard Mann (Kingsthorpe), Mick Diggin (St Crispin), Phil Reeve (Kingsthorpe) 16 Colin Jacox 24
Rink four: Malcolm Paul (Desborough), Ray Castle (Express), Darren Childs (Thrapston), Jim McKee (Kingsthorpe) 21 Malc Hawkins 19
Rink five: Alun Withers (Desborough), Colin Fowkes (Kingsthorpe), Chris Bland (Express), John Haines (Desborough) 10 Simon Gilbert 33
Rink six: Richard Lemon (Express), Jonathan Brown (Abington), Sam Wade (Kingsthorpe), Paul Broderick (Wellingborough) 15 Graham Ashby 12
Northants team to face Lincolnshire in Midland Counties Championship on Saturday
Rink one: Jamie Walker, Alan Ashby, John Freeman, Vernon Gearey
Rink two: Peter Ward, Ray Castle, Darren Childs, Jim McKee
Rink three: Richard Lemon, Jonathan Brown, Sam Wade, Paul Broderick
Rink four: Alun Withers, Colin Fowkes, Chris Bland, John Haines
Rink five: Tony O'Leary, Richard Mann, Mick Diggin, Phil Reeve
Rink six: Callum Heigh, Mick Malins, Roger Tansley, Neil Corbyn
Travelling reserves: Martin Walker, Dominic Graham, Jeff Newitt
Non-travelling reserves: Steve Norman, Carl Haines, Alan Coleman, Michael Chester, George Warren

Narrowest of defeats for county ladies
The County Ladies were also beaten by the narrowest of margins at the weekend, losing out to Cambridgeshire at Newmarket Avenue BC.
Northants led the way until the last end across the green, at that point having a three-shot advantage. But by losing the last end 9-2, the win went to the home side by four shots.

Rink scores
Rink one: Doreen Bedford (Finedon), Jean Frisby (Wellingborough), Wilma Walker (Corby Forest), Barbara Hasledine (Finedon) 18 S Alexander 16
Rink two: Alison Dring (Swanspool), May Wiggins (Corby Forest), Margaret Cave (Rushden) Jan Bradley (Daventry Town) 15 V Hughes 17
Rink three: Yvonne McKee (Kingsthorpe), Pat Starsmore (Kettering Lodge), Hilary Sharpe (Kingsthorpe), Pam Lewis (Rushden) 17 S Matthews 13
Rink four: Helen Jones (Wellingborough), Ann Lissack (Rushden), Margaret McGillivray (Desborough) Audrey Height (Rushden) 17 S Watson 21
Rink five: Mary Forrester (Kettering Lodge), Sue Bagshaw (Kingsthorpe), Pat Gayton (Swanspool), Sharon Tansley (Kingsthorpe) 15 D Smith 14
Rink six: Margaret Watts (Desborough), Barbara Oliver (Kislingbury), Bev Manning (Kislingbury), Brenda Bishop (Daventry Town) 13 P Mead 18

The Racecourse Bowls League entered its second week of league play with a match between the first and second-placed teams in 2007.
Law Security faced Primrose Hill in the first of two close matches that evening.

Primrose first took the advantage, and on the rink of Geoff Burdett, Wally Banks, Keith Jones and Don Harrison they sealed a good 19-15 win.

Law skip Alan Law meanwhile helped his rink take a 14-12 victory. The match was to be decided on the final rink.

This saw Law player Harry Allen skipper his rink to a slim win of 15-14, this was not enough however to take the match, with Primrose taking three points from their narrow 45-44 victory.

The second close match the same evening saw Amateurs and Health facing one another.

Pete O'Connell, Andy Hornby, Pete Muddiman and Martin Cox of Health held themselves together to take a rink win of 16-13.

Amateurs skip Don Fitchett helped his rink do the same, holding to a 15-13 win. The final rink again was to decide the match, and Amateurs skip John Madden and Health's Dave Mains fought hard and at match end could not be separated with a 15-15 tie.

The match had gone Health's way at 44-43, and for them three-and-a-half points was the prize.

The final league match saw a battle between the returning teams in the form of Doddridge and Chronicle & Echo.

Doddridge's rink of J Simpson, P Hunt, A Jewell and skip R Lovesey were top of the form with a 25-8 win, while a further Doddridge rink sealed a 23-7 win to guarantee the match win.

Chron held firm though on their final rink as the team of Rod Jones, Paul Balcombe, David Tarry and Rob White sealed a 19-9 win.

The third matches in the Ideal Motors Triples League saw Law Security's dismal triples run continue in their match against Amateurs.

Amateurs' Dave French, Michael Dix and Joe Kovacs took a 15-7 win, while team-mates Colin Reed, W Atkinson and Mark Hunt did likewise with 13-7.

The final triple saw Amateurs skip John Madden and Law's Ted Love battle it out to an 11-11 tie, to allow Law half a point from the encounter.

Health's strong form in the season so far continued in their match with Doddridge, sealing wins on all three rinks of 13-11, 13-12 and the trio of Andy Hornby, Lee Mains and Dave Mains the best with an 18-7 scoreline.

Primrose Hill meanwhile were still unbeaten for the season, and seeked to continue this in their match with 20th Century. Primrose trio Bill Aldridge, John Edwards and David Evans sealed a win with a score of 16-1. Geoff Burdett, Wally Banks and Don Harrison won 21-9, while Hill skip Dave Aldridge drew 12-12 with 20th skip Dave Poole.